


Reasons

by Molly_Hats



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Campaign: Graduation (The Adventure Zone), Character Study, Chronic Illness, Chronically Ill author, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:47:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29244537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Molly_Hats/pseuds/Molly_Hats
Summary: Rainer has her reasons for being a villain.Fitzroy asks.
Relationships: Implied one sided Rainer/Fitzroy, Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt & Rainer
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Reasons

“Why’re you a villain?” Fitz asked her once.

Rainer raised her eyebrows. “Why’re you a villain, Fitzroy?”

“You know I didn’t have a choice,” Fitzroy said.

“Well neither did I. Necromancy’s a genetic predisposition, you know.” Rainer tapped her chair. “Same as this.”

Fitzroy followed her tapping finger before quickly glancing back up at her face. 

He’d known her for weeks, but he still struggled with where to look. Maybe she should add that to her introduction: I’m Rainer, I have an autoimmune disease, get your questions out now, and my eyes are up here but my chair is also pretty awesome so I won’t get mad if you check it out as long as you don’t overdo it.

Then again, maybe he was just scared one of her pets would pop out and startle him again. She’d only done that twice so far, but it literally never got old.

“You get it from your dad?” 

“He taught me, yeah. I’m adopted.”

“Oh!” Fitzroy’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—“

Rainer laughed at his stricken expression. She leaned over and playfully smacked his shoulder, pretending not to notice the deceptively well-toned arm beneath. “They teach you gymnastics at that fancy school of yours, Sir Maplecourt?”

Fitzroy’s brow furrowed at the change of subject. “A bit. Acrobatics, to go with the athletics. Why?”

“Because,” Rainer tried to hold back a giggle, “you’re very good at putting your foot in your mouth.” 

Fitzroy tried to frown, crossing his arms, but he couldn’t resist her laugh for long. He had a lopsided laugh when he let himself go, a real smile that cracked his face in half and exposed a chipped tooth near the back of his mouth. 

(Dad always said he wasn’t sure if she was a necromancer or an enchanter, she had that effect on people).

Rainer finally stopped, wiping her eyes and grinning at Fitzroy. 

“How early’d you start learning?” Fitzroy asked. “I know most people start showing earlier than I did.”

Rainer shrugged. “As a baby, I guess. My family was real superstitious apparently. Most folks outside of the real remote areas stopped caring about the ‘villainous’ forms of magic when the Guild took over.”

Fitzroy’s eyes darted around behind his lensless glasses, probably worried he’d shown his hand by being so creeped out by her creatures. His fancy school apparently hadn’t taught him modern ideas about magical morality.

“But I mean, villainy’s probably the best route for me anyway. You remember how I missed a couple classes last week?”

“Yeah,” Fitzroy said.

“I got a flare-up, couldn’t get out of bed or even think, really.” She grimaced at the memory. “I worked it out with the disability office, and all my profs know. But it’d be a bit of a problem for a hero, right?” She smiled slightly.

“‘What’s that you say? Lady Stormbringer is attacking the city? Well, unfortunately storms trigger my flare-ups so my brain and body are both gonna be out of commission for this one.’”

She let out a short, amused exhale through her nose. “It’s fine, you can laugh. It’s supposed to be funny.”

Fitz’ suppressed smile eased into a soft chuckle. She wanted to make him laugh again, but this was okay for now.

“There’s lots of benefits to being a villain, Fitz,” Rainer said. “You just have to dig a little deeper. Let go of your preconceptions.” She leaned over to gently bump his shoulder. “Maybe get a new wardrobe.”

“Mm, does this mean I have to wear black now?” Fitz asked.

“I think you’d look real imposing in deep purple.”

“Oh, you know I would.”

**Author's Note:**

> I, too, am a chronically ill college student. *sees Rainer* mine now. 
> 
> I’ve been sitting on this for awhile now. It takes place around when Fitzroy switches to the villain track.


End file.
